A sign says “I LOVE NEW YORK” in New York, near Toretsk, a war-torn region in eastern Ukraine, as Russia’s assault on Ukraine continues, Donetsk region, Ukraine. | Photo credit: Reuters
Russia said on Tuesday (August 20, 2024) that its forces had taken control of New York, a strategically important logistics hub in eastern Ukraine, part of Moscow’s tough campaign to capture the entire Donetsk region.
Ukrainian forces have been trying to advance into Russia’s Kursk region following a surprise cross-border offensive that began on August 6, but the situation in New York – which Reuters could not independently confirm – is a reminder that Russian forces are still continuing their offensive in eastern Ukraine.
Russia has separately announced the formation of new military groups in Kursk and two other border regions as it seeks to prevent incursions into Ukraine without withdrawing troops from the front lines.
Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said a new coordinating body has “already” begun working around the clock to coordinate between regional authorities, military commanders and the Defense Ministry.
But the timing of his announcement – a full two weeks after Ukrainian forces infiltrated Russia’s western border – serves to emphasise the delayed nature of Moscow’s response. He did not explain why such seamless coordination was not possible earlier.
Ukraine’s top commander Oleksandr Sirsky said on Tuesday his forces had pushed 28-35 kilometers (17-22 miles) into Russia, and seized 1,263 square kilometers (488 square miles) of territory, including 93 settlements – figures Reuters could not independently confirm. Russia has vowed to crush the incursion but has given no indication it is close to expelling Ukrainian forces.
The operation has boosted Ukrainian morale, and Kiev believes the capture of territory and Russian prisoners has strengthened its position in any potential negotiations.
But independent military analysts say Kiev has gambled by withdrawing some of its most effective fighting units from front-line defences in eastern Ukraine, where Russia continues to advance.
Incremental success
If Ukraine’s capture of New-York is confirmed, it would be another incremental success for Russia and open the door to further potential strategic gains. The city, whose name is pronounced like “New York,” has been devastated by heavy shelling and bombing by Russian forces, who have used drones to dislodge Ukrainian forces from fortified positions.
The pre-war population is about 10,000, thousands of whom have fled because of the fighting. The town is located on the railway line going to Sloviansk, one of the towns in Donetsk that Moscow has long wanted to take over.
Donetsk is one of four Ukrainian regions that Russia says it has occupied, though it does not fully control all of the area; a territorial claim that Kiev and the West reject as illegal and which Ukraine has vowed to overturn by force.
Russian state TV correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny, who survived a Ukrainian drone attack on his car this month, said control of New York would allow Russian forces to cut a key road – the Pokrovsk-Kostiantynivka highway – that carries supplies to Ukrainian forces in the east.
Alexander Kots, a war correspondent for the Komsomolskaya Pravda daily, said Russian forces would now also be able to attack from the south the eastern city of Toretsk – which is already under Russian pressure on its eastern flank.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation near Pokrovsk and Toretsk was “difficult.”
Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook that since the beginning of the day there had been 14 clashes in the Toretsk region and 34 in the Pokrovsk region.
Ukraine did not immediately confirm that New York was under Russian occupation. Ukraine’s General Staff acknowledged that Russian troops were attacking near New York, but said Ukrainian forces were responding “appropriately”.
Ukrainian officials said Russia also damaged energy infrastructure in northern Ukraine in missile and drone attacks overnight and caused massive fires in the western part of the country, resulting in increased levels of chlorine in the air.
In addition, Russia said it had summoned a senior US diplomat in Moscow, and protested the “provocative” actions of American journalists who traveled from Ukraine to the Kursk region to report on the incursion.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said it also protested emerging evidence of the involvement of US private military companies in Ukraine’s invasion of Russian territory. It did not say what evidence it was referring to.